Applications are invited for three fully-funded doctoral research
studentships in a new Research Network funded by the White Rose College of the
Arts & Humanities.
WRoCAH White Rose NETWORK
Imagining and Representing Species Extinction
About WRoCAH Networks
WRoCAH White Rose Networks each comprise three
PhD studentships. Students will work on one aspect of an over-arching research
theme, and will benefit from being part of an integrated community working upon
a larger initiative. Each WRoCAH White Rose Networks Studentship has two
supervisors – one at the student’s home institution and a co-supervisor at one
of the other White Rose institutions.
Each university acts as lead on one studentship,
and co-supervisor on another so each Network comprises six academics and three
PhD researchers with parity of involvement across the three institutions.
Successful students will be expected to
participate fully in the Network’s activities, working with other PhD
researchers exploring the common theme from three different perspectives. Students will also be part of the White Rose
College of the Arts & Humanities and have access to the additional funding
opportunities membership offers. For
more details of these please see http://wrocah.ac.uk/funding/current-students/
About this Network
Imagining and representing species extinction – both
currently witnessed and projected into the future, including human extinction –
has become a powerful social and cultural discourse, the study of which is the
domain of no single discipline. This network brings together researchers in
environmental conservation, English literature, interactive media, management,
philosophy and religious studies in order to contribute critically to the
cross-disciplinary study of extinction in all its different biological forms
and socio-cultural functions today. Whilst historically extinction has evoked
the disappearance of iconic species of animals and plants, it is just as likely
to be discussed today in the context of macro-scale considerations of global
ecological crisis and the interdependence of human and nonhuman life in an era
of anthropogenic climate change. From reporting on climate tipping points
(which include rapid biodiversity loss), suggestions that we are living in the
'Anthropocene epoch' and an associated 'sixth mass extinction event', to a
recurrent 'eco-apocalypse' and ‘animal apocalypse’ theme in cinematic and
literary narratives, the studies of human and non-human life have become
radically intertwined. Greater input is thus urgently needed from arts and
humanities to work alongside, as well as to critically engage with, the
scientific discoveries and ethical imperatives of contemporary wildlife
conservation studies.
Alongside a concern with how and why we value and protect biodiversity,
individual species and ecosystems, the network addresses questions that have
been hampered by disciplinary boundaries. For example: in what sense is extinction
a harm, and to what or whom? Why do people lament the loss of some species and
not others? How do they communicate the significance of that loss at an
individual and / or collective level? How do people connect the loss of nonhuman
species with fears of human extinction?
The network will meet three times per year, alternating
between institutions. Two of these will be opportunities to feedback on
progress internal to the group, whilst a third will involve a larger activity
seeking input from outside the network. In years 2 and 3 students will
co-organise and contribute to a postgraduate symposium at which they will
present papers and chair panels. Further to these events, there will be
extensive opportunities throughout the 3 years to participate in interdisciplinary
research events, networks, and workshops across the three institutions.
Studentships available
Application Closing Date: 5pm BST on Wednesday 17 May 2017
In the interests of fairness, late applications
will not be accepted.
Interviews will take
place during the first week of June.
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University
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Studentship Topic
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Principal Supervisor
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Co-Supervisor
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Leeds
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Last Whales: Extinction and the Contemporary
Cetacean Imaginary
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Graham Huggan
School of English
University of Leeds
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Callum Roberts
Environment Department
University of York
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Sheffield
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Theories of loss in cultural representations
of extinction
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Robert McKay
School of English
University of Sheffield
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Stefan Skrimshire
School of Philosophy, Religion and History of
Science,
University of Leeds
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York
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A World Without Bees? The role of our social
and cultural imagination in responding to bee extinction.
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Deborah Maxwell
Department of Theatre, Film and Television,
University of York
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Jill Atkins
School of Management
University of Sheffield
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Studentship 1: University of Leeds
Last Whales: Extinction and the Contemporary
Cetacean Imaginary
Whales and other cetaceans have been among the most
consistently mythologised of living creatures, while some species currently
count among the most endangered on Earth. This PhD studentship will chart
contemporary representations of a ‘cetacean imaginary’, combining literary
(possibly also film and television) studies with research in marine
conservation biology.
Studentship 2: University of Sheffield
Theories of loss in cultural representations of
extinction
This studentship will explore
contemporary literary and other cultural portrayals of species extinction
(including the extinction of the human animal). It will interpret them in the
context of critical-theoretical approaches to loss—for example beliefs about
death and the afterlife; life, vitalism and biopolitics; or memory, mourning
and melancholia—to better understand how we value human and nonhuman existence
in contemporary cultures.
Studentship 3: University of York
A World Without Bees? the role of our social and
cultural imagination in responding to bee extinction.
This studentship will look at the
role of innovative design techniques and methods, as well as visualisation and
increasing stakeholder engagement in the prevention of pollinator extinction.
This may involve shaping and identifying collective and conflicting narratives
by which individuals, communities and corporations project, plan for, or
attempt to avoid, a world without bees. We encourage applications from a wide
range of disciplines including interaction design and speculative design,
social and environmental accounting, and related fields.
For more information on any of these studentships, please contact:
Dr Stefan Skrimshire: s.skrimshire@leeds.ac.uk
Applicant Requirements
Applicants must:
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Have at least a UK
Upper Second Class Honours degree or equivalent. A Masters degree is desirable
or demonstration of equivalent experience.
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Demonstrate a
desire to participate fully in the network and its activities.
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Demonstrate a
desire to engage with and benefit from the full WRoCAH cohort of students from
across the three White Rose Universities (c. 80 students) at the same stage in
their research, in a shared training and development programme.
Terms and Conditions
Each WRoCAH White Rose Networks Studentship is
tenable for three years and students are expected to start in October 2017. As
the coherence of the network is important, deferrals will not be permitted.
The award will provide fees at the Home/EU rate and a stipend paid at standard Research Council rates
(£14,553) for the first year of study. The award
is renewable for a second and third year of study subject to satisfactory
academic progress according to each institution’s Policy on Research Degrees.
Successful students will also be eligible to
apply to additional WRoCAH funding schemes for research support, training,
student-led activities and knowledge exchange projects. All students will be required to spend one
month with an external Partner organisation on a specific project to develop
their employability skills.
If international students are appointed to the project then the
following individual University regulations will apply:
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Leeds: If an international
candidate is offered a WRoCAH White Rose Networks Studentship, the School would
have to pay the difference between the international fee rate and the standard
UK/EU fee rate.
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Sheffield: If an international
candidate is offered a WRoCAH White Rose Networks Studentship, the
candidate/department will be required to pay the difference between the
international fee rate and the UK/EU fee rate.
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York: If an international
candidate is offered a WRoCAH White Rose Networks Studentship, the department
will be required to pay the difference between the international fee rate and
the UK/EU fee rate.
Specific enquiries regarding
eligibility should be directed to the relevant Scholarships Offices (NOT the
WRoCAH office):
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Leeds
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+44 113 343 4077 |
pg_scholarships@leeds.ac.uk
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Sheffield
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+44 114 222 1417 |
pgr-scholarships@sheffield.ac.uk
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York
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+44 1904 323374 | research-student-admin@york.ac.uk
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How to apply
Application is in two parts. An application
cannot be considered unless BOTH PARTS are complete.
PART 2 : COMPLETE THE STUDENTSHIP APPLICATION FORM |
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Studentship Application Form: http://bit.ly/wrocah2017nwapp
If you have any queries about completing the online application form,
please contact the WRoCAH Office on networks@wrocah.ac.uk
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